A traveling exhibition by Sabrina Nelson

Frontline Prophet: James Baldwin is a year-long traveling exhibition featuring the artwork of Detroit-based creative, Sabrina Nelson. A professional interdisciplinary artist for over 37 years, Nelson works across several forms and uses both visual and performing arts as conduits for activism. The exhibition highlights the artist’s deeply personal perspectives on the iconic writer through a seven-year sketchbook study, vivid works on paper and canvas, projected video, and installations. The title, pinned by curator Ashara Ekundayo, is inspired by theologian and author Dr. Cornel West’s distinction of a prophet from a leader. He states that “a leader is somebody who has to jump in the middle of the fray and be prudential, while a prophetic person tells the truth, exposes lies, bears witness and then, usually, is pushed to the margins.” In Baldwin’s case, he employs a Black prophetic tradition to design and present a number of pristine and acute considerations on white supremacy to deconstruct the American Dream.

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